In order to prove that the new Regal is worthy of the GS badge and the title of a ‘sport sedan’ a couple of Buick engineers piloted the Regal GS to a second-place finish in the 135 mph class of the Nevada Open Road Challenge, finishing within 0.4 seconds of their 40-minute target time.

“Success was based on balancing low-speed sections of the course with running the Regal at top speed for a period of time,” Buick said in a statement. “During that segment, a radar trap controlled by race operators verified a speed of 162 mph for the 270-horsepower Buick.”

“The Regal GS is an incredibly capable performance sedan,” said driver Bill Rietow. “In addition to the strong acceleration from the engine, the chassis maintained its composure well while running across these closed public roads at high speeds. Likewise, the Brembo brakes were easy to trust coming hot into a corner.”

Check out the video after the jump.

Refresher: Power for the 2012 Buick Regal GS comes from a Ecotec 2.0L direct-injected turbocharged 4-cylinder engine pumping out 270 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. Mated standard to a 6-speed manual transmission (6-speed automatic will be available as an option later), 0 to 60 mph comes in 6.7 seconds.